Nightly Skincare Routine

 

Hi guys! Today I thought I'd share my current nightly skincare routine with you. I tend to have more time at night than in the morning, so I can spend a bit longer looking after my skin. Having said that, my routine before bed is still pretty simple, only consisting of a few products. Read on for the details!

Bioderma Sensibio H2O

This makeup removing micellar solution is my favourite micellar water. I had been using the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water (with the pink lid) but it ran out and the more expensive Bioderma one was on sale so I treated myself. It doesn't foam up like the Garnier one, giving a cleaner finish which I prefer. Yes I know I should wash my makeup off properly every night, but I just can't be bothered!

Skin Physics Eyefix 360

This is a multi-correcting anti-ageing eye treatment. I have about six different eye creams, and after I bought the Lancome Advanced Genifique Eye Cream, which became a firm favourite and my go-to every morning, I really couldn't find a use for the Skin Physics Eyefix (which by the way I got really cheap in the Myer Centre Priceline closing down sale). So I've decided to add it to my nightly skincare routine and it's going well. I'm also using it on weekends and saving my Lancome eye cream for weekdays and when I go out.

Skin Physics Dragon's Blood Ultra Plumping Night Cream

I feel like I've had this forever, but I'm still kind of sad I've nearly finished it. It's so good! I love the gel texture, the fragrance and how it feels upon application. And it's really effective at plumping the skin and improving the general look of my complexion. I think I'm going to have to replace this when it runs out, so lets hope there's another Priceline sale haha.

Lanolips Minty Lanostick / Carmex Moisturising Lip Balm in Watermelon

I'm currently alternating between these two lip balms. I love the twist up design of the Lanolips, and the minty fragrance is really refreshing. But I've used Carmex for years, so I had to try the Watermelon version, which I also love. I picked both of these up quite cheap in the recent Priceline skincare sale. It came at the right time because I'd just finished my second Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Lipcare Stick, which I adore, but feel bad spending $30 on (it's full price, when I'm not using a Myer Rewards voucher). So I'm happy to use a few cheaper options for now, the important thing is to make sure I keep applying lip balm a lot, especially during Winter and with the air conditioning drying my lips out!

Thanks for reading, guys, I hope you enjoyed!

Don't forget to follow my foodie Instagram @imhungrymax and my beauty Instagram @shinyglitterbug ~ you can also follow this blog on Facebook at Max The Unicorn

 

WIN a Jelly Artistry Jelly Cake!

Hi guys! I have teamed up with the very talented Jelly Artistry to run an amazing Giveaway over on Instagram! You can WIN  a beautiful Jelly Cake worth $100! And the best part is, you can choose the bouquet design, the flavour (strawberry, mango, pineapple, coconut, rosewater, orange or orange blossom) and your level of sweetness! How cool! These vegan cakes are not only stunning, they’re obviously 100% edible, and gluten, dairy, nut and soy free!

PRIZE

1 x Jelly Artistry round 8 inch Jelly Cake, valued at $100. Winner to choose bouquet design, flavour & sweetness level.

Winner to pick up their prize from Campbelltown, SA. Adelaide entrants, although Aussies from other states can enter if they have an Adelaide friend to gift the prize to.

Enter HERE > https://www.instagram.com/p/CSJbT8jlmMW/

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm Adelaide time on Thursday 12 August 2021. The Winner will be chosen randomly and announced on the Instagram Giveaway post at @imhungrymax and notified via DM on Friday 13 August. Open to Australian residents only, please note that the prize must be picked up from Campbelltown, South Australia {see above}. This Giveaway is in no way associated with Instagram.

**BEWARE SCAMMERS IMPERSONATING MY INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT! WINNER WILL ONLY BE DM'ED THROUGH @IMHUNGRYMAX AND WILL NEVER BE ASKED FOR BANK ACCOUNT OR CREDIT CARD DETAILS**

Linking up to #LifeThisWeek

Thanks for reading, guys, I hope you enjoyed!

Don't forget to follow my foodie Instagram @imhungrymax and my beauty Instagram @shinyglitterbug ~ you can also follow this blog on Facebook at Max The Unicorn

'Seize The Minute' Essie Mani

 

Hi guys! Do your fingernails go through cycles? Mine were long and looking good for a fair while, but then, slowly but surely, they started breaking, no matter what I did to look after them. So they are short right now for this mani, but what can you do, they'll grow right?

I bought this red Essie Expressie quick dry polish called 'Seize The Minute' to cheer myself up, because it just looked like such a gorgeous red. It's exactly the kind of shade I'm immediately attracted to. Do I have a handful of extremely similar colours in my nail polish collection? Of course. But I honestly don't care. I'll cross that bridge when I eventually do a nail polish de-clutter, and not a moment sooner. Haha!

Thanks for reading, guys, I hope you enjoyed!

Don't forget to follow my foodie Instagram @imhungrymax and my beauty Instagram @shinyglitterbug ~ you can also follow this blog on Facebook at Max The Unicorn 

Nuts & Bolts Recipe

 

Hi guys! Well I said I'd be blogging about whatever takes my fancy, and today I'm coming at you with this Nuts & Bolts recipe. Have you ever tried this? This is such an addictive and tasty snack, perfect for movie watching, the mid-afternoon munchies, or just about any occasion, really! There are a few different recipes for this online, but I'm posting the one I like the best. If you haven't tried this before, you really must. There's only a few ingredients and no baking/cooking involved, It's basically just mixing stuff together. So easy!

Ingredients

• 290g box of Nutri-Grain cereal
• 250g peanuts
• 45g packet Cream of Chicken soup (powder mix)
• 45g packet French Onion soup (powder mix)
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 cup Canola oil (warmed)

Method

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together in large bowl with a wooden spoon. 

2. Slowly pour in your warmed canola oil in batches, mixing as you go, til you've added it all and it's all mixed together.

That's it! This makes up a fair bit, but trust me, it won't last long.

It's best stored in an airtight container. Oh and one of the soup mixes I used was 35g instead of 45g as that's all I could find and it doesn't really make a difference. I would love to know if you try this recipe guys, and what you think. Let me know if you do!

Thanks for reading, guys, I hope you enjoyed!

Don't forget to follow my foodie Instagram @imhungrymax and my beauty Instagram @shinyglitterbug ~ you can also follow this blog on Facebook at MaxTheUnicorn

Super Fun Updates!

 I Know It's Not Christmas

Hi guys! First of all I want to say, yes, I know these last couple of posts (if you're an email subscriber) have been titled Giveaway: Win an AniKookie Christmas Cookie Pack, which I know is incorrect. This is the title of my last blog post, from November 2020. Let me explain! My blog interface has been updated and as a result, the email subscriber section has disappeared completely. This is the section I used to go into to change the title after writing a new post. So there's no way of me accessing this section and updating it, since Blogger has removed it.

Tech Issues Are Fun

Which brings me to another bit of blog housekeeping. My email subscription provider will no longer be hosting this service as of July this year. What does this mean for you, if you are an email subscriber? Well luckily you don't have to do anything. I, however, will be sourcing a new email subscription service, so basically next time you are emailed my latest blog post, it might look a little different. But rest assured, it's still me, with my Max The Unicorn blog posts. Hopefully I'll be able to fix the email subject title issue at the same time, too! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Let's Get Personal

I've been pondering the direction of this blog and I've come to the realisation that I really just want this to be a personal blog. I don't want to have to write certain posts because I've been sent things from brands/PR that I need to feature or review, or been invited to an event or a movie premiere, etc. All those types of obligated work posts will feature on my food and beauty Instagram accounts.

In stark contrast to when I was blogging previously, I noticed that I actually really enjoyed writing my last blog post 5 Things I'm Loving. I loved being able to write about whatever I wanted without having to think about how to include a gifted product, or link to a site, or research a product, and have to advertise my post widely and link it up (because the stats mattered), and so on and so forth! Blogging started off as a hobby, but over the years it felt like it turned into a job. I know many fellow Bloggers will relate to this. Basically I want this to be fun again, because I do enjoy writing. I am definitely not going to complain about everything I've been sent for review over the years, I appreciate all the businesses and PR's I've worked with, and will continue to accept suitable collaborations on my Instagram accounts, just no longer on the blog.

So basically, I'll just be blogging about whatever takes my fancy from now on. I hope you stick around for the ride!

Thanks for reading, guys, I hope you enjoyed!

Don't forget to follow my foodie Instagram @imhungrymax and my beauty Instagram @shinyglitterbug ~ you can also follow this blog on Facebook at Max The Unicorn

5 Things I'm Loving!

 

Hi guys! Long time, no blog! It's been about seven months, in fact. As you might know, Instagram has really been dominating social media lately, and as such, I've been spending way more time creating content over there, instead of here. Having both beauty and food IG accounts, with brand collaborations happening on both, really takes up a lot of my time, so my blog has kind of fallen by the wayside as a result. It doesn't help that my blog interface has changed and I hate learning new things, so I just never really get around to posting on here anymore.

Having said that, I really don't want to stop blogging altogether. So I'll be pushing myself to find time to blog. How frequently that will be, or what I'll be blogging about, is yet to be determined! Everything is up in the air at this stage, so I'm just going to see how I go. For now, though, please enjoy these 5 Things I'm Loving...

1. Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Stick

My husband bought me the Elizabeth Arden Gift With Purchase set (I'm not sure if it was the Myer or David Jones one - they were slightly different) recently and I have fallen head over heels in love with this magical lip product! I had been wanting to try it for the longest time, and it did not disappoint. It has healed a little dry bit of skin I had on my top lip, which many products could not do. It's so hydrating and comfortable to wear, and very flattering too. My original one is nearly finished so I had to go panic buy a brand new one to replace it. I think I'll be using this lip protectant forever now!

2. 'True Crime & Cocktails' Podcast

First of all, I've never really been into podcasts at all. TV show, movies, Netflix... yes, but not podcasts. But after following Superstore actress Lauren Ash on Instagram, I saw that she hosts this podcast with her cousin Christy Oxborrow, and I had to check it out. It is so good! The girls are funny, entertaining and captivating as they delve into a new true crime case with each episode. Think murders like The Staircase one, Jonbenet Ramsey, Natalie Wood, the death of Brittany Murphy and more. Christy's researching skills are second to none, and it's fascinating listening to the facts she uncovers in her deep dives.

3. Olay Pore Perfecting Vitamin C + Dragon Fruit Scrub

God damn, I am loving this scrub! I've been on somewhat of a mission lately to find quite a hardcore scrub filled to the brim with little exfoliating particles that you can actually feel, and I've finally come up with a winner! I'm not joking, I have about seven different scrubs that I've used just a few times and not been impressed with... it's like all these products have changed their formulas and they're all bad now, lol. Anyway, this Olay scrub smells divine and the texture is amazing and I'm loving the results. Finally!

4. Lancome Advanced Genifique Youth Activating & Light Infusing Eye Cream

What a mouthful! A foodie friend gave me a sample of this, and just like the EA lip protectant stick, I have fallen in love with it! I'm definitely buying the full size once my little pot runs out. I love a multi-tasking eye cream (mainly because I have multiple issue to address!) and this really does a great job and gives me impressive results. It reduces my dark circles, whilst also smoothing fine lines, firming the area and improving overall skin tone. Not to mention, the creamy gel-like texture is divine.

5. 'Below Deck' TV Show

Below Deck has got to be the easiest thing to binge watch on Netflix! This reality show follows the adventures of a group of people working on chartered yachts, and not only is it fascinating, it's also funny, eye-opening, action-packed and a little bit trashy. The crew members live in such close quarters, so it's interesting to see how they work and come together almost as family, as they cater to the whims of their super-rich guests. I just need them to release more seasons of this on Netflix, as I'm all caught up!

Thanks for reading, guys, I hope you enjoyed!

 

Don't forget to follow my foodie Instagram @imhungrymax and my beauty Instagram @shinyglitterbug ~ you can also follow this blog on Facebook at Max The Unicorn